The Hamilton Central Business Association has given up lobbying council to hand over management of Garden Place - for now.
An abundance of bureaucratic red tape has seen the association put its proposal on hold until it can put it in front of the new council later this year. "It's a shame the wheels of bureaucracy turn so slow when the solutions to make the area more positive and vibrant are practical and ready to be implemented," said HCBA general manager Sandy Turner.
Ms Turner said the association was well-placed to manage the space and many other councils around the country contracted other organisations to operate public spaces like Garden Place.
Ms Turner said it was a long-winded process because council contracting out management of the space hadn't happened before. "When something's new it takes time. And I think to be fair it's going to put some council staff out of work because it's their job at the moment to look after the space. But I don't think it's council's job to be doing this sort of stuff. In other regions in New Zealand this kind of work is tendered out because contractors can deliver it at a better price for a better quality product."
The association has applied for a specific fee in its proposal to council based on what is currently spent on "staffing and marketing and promoting events". "We are looking at creating a fantastic children's playground area. We believe families and activity give people a reason to stop. And it needs consistent, regular, fun events. The staged area needs to be constantly filled with community groups, schools, performing artists, youth. There are huge opportunities for people to use the stage for small events.
"It's never been designed for large events. It's a beautiful space that needs to be enhanced as far as better seating, and something for children to do. A park there would be gorgeous. It needs to be the heart of the city."
Ms Turner said the council's "limited programme" of events over summer was money that could be better spent on a permanent attraction such as a playground and better seating.
"A lot of money and resources go into those key events. It's great on the day, but then it's gone. It would be so much nicer for tourists to walk to i-SITE and see families playing and frolicking as they walk past than to have to step over and stumble around vagrants and loiterers.
"The reason people loiter and are vagrant in that space is there's not a lot of foot traffic there. So we need a reason for people to want to be in Garden Place and it needs to be a positive reason."
The association has invested $18,000 in a trial that will see two City Safe officers patrol the CBD for six hours a day, Monday to Friday. Ms Turner said since patrols began last Monday she'd had "nothing but positive feedback" from her members.
"We need the daytime patrols reintroduced to the city permanently. We're funding it for a two-month trial period, then we'll take those results to council with the full expectation that council will totally and utterly get on board. It's ridiculous that daytime patrols stopped.
"We've got the population where it's vital. Not only are the City Safe patrols curbing and tempering ridiculous behaviour but they're also fantastic ambassadors. They're directing people, helping people."